Open house: What measures should be taken to ensure cleanliness in Amritsar?

Seek suggestions from experts

In order to make Amritsar truly clean, significant efforts are required not only from the local administration but also from the city’s residents. If the Municipal Corporation (MC) is failing to provide a clean environment, residents must step up to take steps to clear deficiencies. First and foremost, the residents should refrain from throwing any kind of garbage on the roadsides in their neighbourhoods. Secondly, when handing over waste to garbage collectors, they should ensure the proper segregation of dry and wet household waste. On the administrative side, the Amritsar MC should take inspiration from the Chandigarh administration by installing large waste bins in all areas, enabling residents to dispose of all types of waste responsibly. Last but not least, the MC authorities, along with local MLAs and their deputies, should actively seek help and suggestions from experts and available sources to implement effective remedial measures to ensure that Amritsar is clean in both letter and spirit. Sanjay Chawla

Comprehensive approach required

Local MLAs, along with the Mayor and his deputies, participated in a street-cleaning drive under the government’s “Swachh Abhiyan” initiative. However, the cleanliness drive has so far been largely symbolic. Despite photographs that point to a freewheeling affair, Amritsar continues to grapple with a significant garbage problem. The clean-up effort has done little to change the reality of streets lined with refuse and open tractor-trailers dumping rubbish onto roads as they ferry it to landfills. The Municipal Corporation’s inaction highlights the absence of a comprehensive approach – one that should include infrastructure upgrades, penal measures, technology-based tracking and monitoring, staff training and active citizen involvement. Without sustained efforts and genuine reform, Amritsar will remain far from becoming the clean and healthy city it deserves to be.

Liza Verma

Ensuring segregation at source is a must

Amritsar’s waste crisis demands urgent and technical solutions. Over 10 lakh metric tonne of legacy waste remains dumped at Bhagtanwala, with remediation stalled since May 2023 due to non-functional machinery. The city faces Rs 4.5 crore penalty for the ongoing violations. Waste segregation is poorly implemented; uncovered trolleys mix garbage and many bulk generators, like restaurants, lack in-house disposal, clogging sewers. Despite plans to add 90 garbage vehicles, processing remains below 50 per cent. Immediate steps must include enforcing segregation at source, operationalising bio-remediation units, mandating waste processing by bulk generators and covering waste transport. Community awareness and digital monitoring should back these efforts to ensure a cleaner, truly Swachh Amritsar. Jaspreet Singh

Collective action need of the hour

To make Amritsar truly clean-in both letter and spirit-symbolic gestures must give way to sustained, practical action. The Municipal Corporation must:

Implement a structured waste management system with door-to-door collection, source segregation, and scientific disposal through composting and recycling.

Ban the use of open tractor-trailers for garbage transport and ensure covered, hygienic vehicles to prevent spillage and pollution.

Train sanitation workers, provide them with proper tools and introduce a performance-based accountability system.

Beyond government action, citizen participation is crucial. Local mohallas, gurdwaras, market committees and schools should be actively involved in cleanliness drives. Awareness campaigns-especially in Punjabi-should highlight the link between cleanliness, health and Punjab’s heritage of selfless service (sewa). Incentives such as reductions in municipal tax or parking facilities should be offered to volunteers who contribute innovative ideas and involve their teams or dedicated NGOs in improving the drive. Gandhian ideals must not remain confined to photo opportunities. When every gali, bazaar and chowk reflects a collective civic sense, only then will Amritsar truly shine-clean, proud, and dignified. PREETPAL SINGH CHHINA

Sanitation workers need training

While MLAs, the Mayor and deputies sweeping streets under the “Swachh Abhiyan" may grab headlines, it barely scratches the surface of Amritsar’s sanitation issues. These symbolic acts lose meaning when garbage still lines the roads and waste spills from open tractor-trailers, reflecting the Municipal Corporation’s negligence. Real change demands responsibility, not ribbon-cutting. Authorities must ensure garbage is collected regularly and transported in sealed vehicles. Sanitation workers need proper training, equipment and fair wages to perform effectively. Public bins should be placed at key spots and emptied routinely. Most importantly, residents must stop treating streets as dumping grounds-awareness drives and school programmes can instil a culture of cleanliness. As someone who believes in both visual appeal and public health, I feel Amritsar deserves more than temporary gestures. We need long-term planning, real accountability and community involvement to make our city truly clean-visibly, practically and wholeheartedly. Vaani Mehra

Adopt strategic, systematic approach

To achieve lasting cleanliness, the city must move beyond optics and adopt a strategic, system-based approach. A key step is dividing the city into cleaning zones with trained sanitation teams, equipped with mechanized sweepers for major roads and markets. These teams must be monitored through CCTV cameras and GPS-enabled attendance systems to ensure discipline and accountability. Open garbage transport should be phased out and replaced with sealed, covered vehicles. Additionally, the workforce needs regular training in modern waste-handling methods, supported by safety gear and incentives. Regular sanitation audits must be conducted ward-wise, with public scorecards published to keep officials accountable. Smart bins, community compost pits, and monthly cleanliness rankings can build civic pride. Lastly, a helpline and mobile app for residents to report unclean areas must be launched to ensure swift action. Cleanliness in Amritsar must be built on systems-not slogans. Aarti Rana Chauhan

Need to follow better practices

Amritsar is known as Sifti da Ghar. But are our administrators and citizens honoring this title? The whole city looks like a big dump yard. To a visitor, piles of garbage, open drainage, and sewage flowing on the roads are what welcome them. Do we, the residents of Amritsar, deserve this or accept the fact that we have to live like this? Open garbage trolleys, often seen on the road, contribute more to the garbage on the streets than to cleanliness. Such situations often lead to many infections. The most vulnerable are children and senior citizens. Officers travel abroad and see clean and beautiful cities, but they don’t seem to bring back ideas for improving the condition of our city. It could be financial restraints within the department or total disinterest. Does holding a broom in hand to promote Swachh Abhiyan improve the cleanliness of the city? This act can serve both symbolic and practical purposes-but the actual impact depends on intent, frequency, and follow-through.

The positive side

Leaders demonstrating a willingness to engage in manual labour can send a strong message about the dignity of work, setting an example that cleanliness is everyone’s responsibility, not just that of sanitation workers.

Public awareness

These acts can draw media attention, helping to promote cleanliness consciousness among citizens, especially if backed by consistent campaigns.

Motivation to staff and citizens

When done sincerely, it can boost morale among sanitation workers and encourage public participation.

The negative side

If done only for photo-ops, with clean roads and clean brooms, it becomes a symbolic gesture rather than meaningful action.

Lack of follow-up

Without sustained efforts-like improved waste management systems, better infrastructure, and accountability-the gesture loses value.

Disrespect to real workers

If symbolic actions overshadow the struggles and contributions of actual sanitation workers, it can come off as tone-deaf.

In essence, such actions can serve a purpose-but only when they’re part of a larger, genuine and sustained commitment to civic cleanliness and systemic reform. A city like Indore is a glaring example of Swachh Abhiyan. It’s time for the administrators and citizens to do deep introspection and truly make Amritsar Sifti da Ghar. Dr KS Manchanda

Effective plans to manage waste

Hygiene and cleanliness, unfortunately, are not a way of life for the majority of Indians. It is a fallacy that only the poor or the illiterate are careless about cleanliness and spread garbage. I have seen empty bottles and disposable plates being thrown onto the roads from big, swanky cars driven by the elite class. We all need to own up to our individual responsibility in this cause. We can’t just blame the next person and be done with it. Until the time each one of us takes responsibility, we will make little progress. As far as the government is concerned, it too needs to be more proactive. Empty gestures like wielding brooms for a photo are certainly not going to fool anyone or inspire people to do their bit. Strict measures, followed by swift and appropriate action, need to be enforced. The public must be made aware of such rules and punishments, just as they are made aware of traffic rules. We need better machinery and effective plans for garbage collection and disposal. Until we all get truly serious and conscious about this, sadly, it will remain a lost cause.

Neha Sharma

More trolleys, staff needed

“Swachh Abhiyan” and the “Amritsar Smart City” status are all an eyewash. We have been hearing this for years. Governments have changed, but the situation remains the same to this day. If the Mayor, local MLAs and deputies make only symbolic gestures toward cleanliness, it won’t help. They need to ensure that the city gets a proper facelift. Garbage lifting is erratic; more trolleys need to be added for collection, with adequate staff, and the trolleys should be covered with tarpaulin. The world has gone high-tech, but sadly, Amritsar is lagging behind in every way. Stringent policies for city enhancement need to be framed. Citizen participation is required to improve communication among all three administrative bodies-namely, the Municipal Corporation, Improvement Trust, and PWD-so they can work in coordination. Being a world-renowned city, it is imperative that the government wakes up to the challenges it faces today as a dirty, uncared-for Guru di Nagri. Indu Aurora

Change required in people’s attitude

Amritsar is a city established by Guru Ram Das, and thus, every inch of it is sacred. The dismal failure of governance in debris and waste collection and disposal, the irresponsible reluctance of citizens toward garbage segregation and self-composting, the littering habits of people and the lack of regulatory enforcement to ensure a clean and green city are causing misery to both visitors and residents alike. This puts the Smart City, Heritage City, and Holy City tags to shame. A grassroots revolution by the people is required to bring about change and ensure that Amritsar becomes a beacon of the aspirations of the Guru. Gunbir Singh

Amritsar